Velothon Wales is one of the largest Sportifs in the UK with around 12000 cyclists enjoying traffic free roads in five Local Authority areas. The riders set off from Cardiff on a 140Km (87m) route, taking in the views of Newport, Usk, the Brecon Beacons, Pontypool, Newbridge and Caerphilly before finishing in Cardiff Civic Centre.
The first group of five Acme Club members left the city centre at 7:15, an early start for Jason Dodd, Kerry Lewis, Mark Nichols, Jeff Matthews and Chris Thomas. Each starting pen contained over 500 riders and it gave everyone the sensation of riding a road race. When our call came it was along the castle wall into Castle Street for the start in St Mary’s Street. Very quickly the younger legs of Jason, Mark and Kerry moved away from Jeff and Chris but there was plenty of company on the route with riders from all over Wales and England riding shoulder to shoulder.
Once out of Newport the route took to the beautiful Monmouthshire countryside and its up and down roads were packed with cyclists. Just before the feed stop in Usk the riders encountered one of the forecast showers, not too heavy but is lasted for a while.
At the Usk stop Chris and Jeff caught up with Kerry and Mark but Jason had decided to plough on alone, hoping to ride through the poor weather. Despite being vigilant for other Club members there was no sign of Tommy Doherty and Cae Lovatt who had predicted they would pass the first group just after Newport, with a start time of 8:30 and an extra hour in bed. Tommy and Cae rode together and may have passed the others at the Usk stop on their way to a very respectable finishing time.
The showers passed over and the clouds began to break up, but the improved weather could not encourage Jeff and Chris to take the Tumble challenge and they took a left turn to reach Pontypool by a less arduous route.
From Pontypool it was “all downhill” to Caerphilly before the next real uphill over Caerphilly Mountain. Kerry and Mark were hindered on their way but a torrential downpour in Pontypool. After a mixture of walking and riding Chris and Jeff reached the feed station on top of Caerphilly Mountain and were soon joined by Mark and Kerry, who had managed to ride up all the way. After a couple of bananas the four sped down the mountain into Cardiff and after a quick chat to Robert Davies on Special Constable duties it was into the city centre for a foursome photograph crossing the line.
Velothon Wales is one of the largest Sportifs in the UK with around 12000 cyclists enjoying traffic free roads in five Local Authority areas. The riders set off from Cardiff on a 140Km (87m) route, taking in the views of Newport, Usk, the Brecon Beacons, Pontypool, Newbridge and Caerphilly before finishing in Cardiff Civic Centre.
The first group of five Acme Club members left the city centre at 7:15, an early start for Jason Dodd, Kerry Lewis, Mark Nichols, Jeff Matthews and Chris Thomas. Each starting pen contained over 500 riders and it gave everyone the sensation of riding a road race. When our call came it was along the castle wall into Castle Street for the start in St Mary’s Street. Very quickly the younger legs of Jason, Mark and Kerry moved away from Jeff and Chris but there was plenty of company on the route with riders from all over Wales and England riding shoulder to shoulder.
Once out of Newport the route took to the beautiful Monmouthshire countryside and its up and down roads were packed with cyclists. Just before the feed stop in Usk the riders encountered one of the forecast showers, not too heavy but is lasted for a while.
At the Usk stop Chris and Jeff caught up with Kerry and Mark but Jason had decided to plough on alone, hoping to ride through the poor weather. Despite being vigilant for other Club members there was no sign of Tommy Doherty and Cae Lovatt who had predicted they would pass the first group just after Newport, with a start time of 8:30 and an extra hour in bed. Tommy and Cae rode together and may have passed the others at the Usk stop on their way to a very respectable finishing time.
The showers passed over and the clouds began to break up, but the improved weather could not encourage Jeff and Chris to take the Tumble challenge and they took a left turn to reach Pontypool by a less arduous route.
From Pontypool it was “all downhill” to Caerphilly before the next real uphill over Caerphilly Mountain. Kerry and Mark were hindered on their way but a torrential downpour in Pontypool. After a mixture of walking and riding Chris and Jeff reached the feed station on top of Caerphilly Mountain and were soon joined by Mark and Kerry, who had managed to ride up all the way. After a couple of bananas the four sped down the mountain into Cardiff and after a quick chat to Robert Davies on Special Constable duties it was into the city centre for a foursome photograph crossing the line.
Everyone enjoyed the experience of riding traffic free roads, but there are mixed feeling about registering for next year.
Everyone enjoyed the experience of riding traffic free roads, but there are mixed feeling about registering for next year.
